The Emperor's Club - I am Shutruk Nahhunte...

Because great ambition and conquest... without contribution...is without significance.

 I am Shutruk Nahhunte...

Mr. Hunder (Kevin Kline) , profesor de istorie, incepe intotdeauna prima lectie cu insusi sensul invataturii ... Dar va las sa cititi.

"I am Shutruk Nahhunte, King of Ansham and Susa, sovereign of the land of Elam. I destroyed Sippar and took  the stele of Naram-Sin and brought it back to Elam, where I erected it as an offering to my god.  Shutruk Nahhunte, 1158 B.C."

Well done, Mr. Blythe. Thank you. You may be seated. "Shutruk Nahhunte." Is anyone familiar with this fellow? Texts are permissible. But you won't find it there.

Shutruk Nahhunte.! King.! Sovereign of the land of Elam! Destroyer of Sippar!
Behold, his accomplishments cannot be found in any history book. Why?
Because great ambition and conquest... without contribution...is without significance.
What will your contribution be? How will history remember you?
Shutruk Nahhunte... utterly forgotten.
Unlike the great men you see around you. Aristotle,...Caesar, Augustus, Plato, Cicero, Socrates...
giants of history, men of profound character. Men whose accomplishments surpassed their own lifetime... and survive even into our own. Their story...is our story.

That is your job!

What's the good of what you're teachin' those boys?

 Profesorul de istorie are o mare surpriza in discutia cu senatorul Bell, tatal unui din elevi...

Senator Bell: Let me ask you something. What's the good of what you're teachin' those boys?
Mr. Hundert : "The good"?
Senator Bell:  Yes. The good.
Mr. Hundert :Well, Senator, the Greeks and Romans provided... a model of democracy, which, I don't need to tell you, the framers of our own Constitution... used as their inspiration. But more to the point, I think when the boys read Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Julius Caesar even, they're put in direct contact with men who, in their own age, exemplified...the highest standards of statesmanship, of civic virtue, of character, conviction...[...]
Sir, it's my job to mold your son's character, and I think if...
Senator Bell: Mold him? Jesus God in heaven, son.  You're not gonna mold my boy. Your job is to teach my son.You teach him his times tables. Teach him why the world is round.  Teach him who killed who and when and where. That is your job. You, sir, will not mold my son. I will mold him.

Senatorul ii neaga profesorului dreptul de ai forma pe copii, invatatura in viziunea lui fiind doar o acumulare bruta de cunostinte. Pe fiul sau vrea ca el insusi sa-l formeze... Sa vedem cum va evolua acesta.

"A liar and a cheat"

(profesorul vede aparatul de ascultat in urechea fostului student)

O reuniune dupa ani de zile care ii aduce impreuna pe elevi si profesorul de istorie este prilejul unui concurs de istorie intre fostii colegi. In mod surprinzator cel care castiga nu este cel care era stralucit la istorie, ci fiul senatorului, acum el insusi politician. Profesorul descopera insa ca tanarul politician a simtit nevoia sa triseze chiar si in acest concurs amical... primind raspunsurile printr-un dispozitiv din ureche.

.. a life... lived without virtue, without principle, and for that I pity you.

Va las, la fel, sa urmariti cele doua moduri diferite de a vedea lumea.

Mr. Hundert : Do you mean am I going to go out there... and expose you for a liar and a cheat??
No. I'm a teacher, Sedgewick. And I failed you... As a teacher. But I will give you one last lecture, if I may.
All of us, at some point, are forced... to look at ourselves in the mirror, and see who we really are.
And when that day comes for you, Sedgewick, you will be confronted with a life... lived without virtue, without principle, and for that I pity you. End of lesson.

...people do what they need to do to get what they want.

Sedgewick: Well, can I say, Mr. Hundert, who gives a shit? Honestly. Who out there gives a shit... about your principles and your virtues? I mean, look at you. What do you have to show for yourself? I live in the real world, where people do what they need to do to get what they want. And if it's lying and it's cheating, then so be it. So, I am gonna go out there, and I am going to win that election, Mr. Hundert, and you will see me everywhere. And I'll worry about my contribution later.